i love the draft as much as anyone, and BB seems to value his picks more than anyone. but it is interesting to note some of the developments in camp this year: - an UDF safety (brown) pushing a 1st rounder (meriweather) for his starting spot. - an UDF CB (arrington) beating out a 2nd rounder (butler) for the 3rd corner spot. - an UDF DL (love) beating out a 2nd rounder (brace) for a top backup spot. - a 7th round WR (edelman) seemingly on the verge of beating out a 3rd rounder (tate) for a roster spot. - an UDF TE (yeatman) starting to take reps over a 4th rounder (smith) from the same draft. - top 2 RB's are both UDF's (BJGE and woody). not to mention UDF fletcher beating out 3rd rounder mckenzie last season. just makes you think....Posted by artielang

that is interesting.

You forgot to mention UDFA Fletcher possibly over taking another UDFA in Guyton and a 2nd round pick in Spikes.

I wouldn't be yucking it up on UDFA beating out drafted prospects. This is not good on many levels. Things you can't teach like height and speed. Bill needs to hit on these 2nd, 3rd and what ever round it is. UDFA usually come with a lot of short comings else they would have been drafted.

When you have more draft picks then any team in the league year in and out then chances are you will have a higher % of misses. I like the fact BB gives the job to the man who has earned it during actual practice time. Contract/ draft position/ media hype means little to nothing....actually nothing at all to BB and Kraft which IMO is 100% of the reason why the Patriots have the best record in the NFL since 1994(that's a long time people).

@Garytx don't get me wrong every draft I am screaming for the medias top ranked players(or my own) but I can't get too depressed about what this team has done over the course of the last decade!

Guys get injured, sometimes as early as their first year of play, and the Patriots never, ever discuss injuries. This is the problem with comparing rookies and veterans.

One classic problem is concussions. When a veteran can never seem to remember the play, I assume that the guy is dinged and that he's getting a 1 way ticket next week. Other problems like busted shoulders and abdominal tears don't show, but the players can't play well.

I'm not sure why Meriweather doesn't seem to be performing like he used to do, or why Butler never lived up to his rep, but they didn't. There's always some JAG setting the floor for what quality of play is acceptable, sometimes an exceptional JAG sets a high floor, and the Patriots' scouting organization knows how to pick em as a rule.

Wes was undrafted also. But 5 or 6 guys on a 53 man roster is not really mind blowing.Posted by shenanigan

I agree. However, 5 or 6 guys on a roster that are UDFA's that are starters or get significant playing time as compared to many who were 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks that either don't stick or get cut is troubling.

It just proves like some say, how much of a crap shoot the draft is. It's hard to scout heart, desire and will.

I think you also have to consider the depth and quality of the draft class. There were plenty of reports and Pats chatter about how weak many of the recent drafts were. We can pick guys all day long, but if the entire draft class sucks, were going to have this stuff happeneing.

I think BB likes to collect high draft picks (mostly 2nd's) so he has a better chance at hitting the lottery than the average team with less ammunition. Granted, there have been some pretty bad misses in the 2nd round (Klemm, Jackson, Wheatley, maybe Butler and Brace) but there have been some outright bang up jobs too (Spikes, Gronk, Cunningham, Chung, Vollmer, etc.). BB is better than anybody at spinning assests for draft picks. It's a calculated gamble and he can take chances where other less established coaches and GMs can't. Volume probably leads to more misses than hits, especailly when you have a pretty good roster to begin with. And let's not discount UDFA as a tool. Getting players is important regardless of where you get them.

It will be interesting to see how much of BB's strategy changes now that draftees are salary slotted. For the most part, BB has done well with 1st rounders. Even the mediocre ones (Maroney, Meriweather) were/are contributors.

The undrafted Free agents come into camp cheap and hungry. Usually there are about 10 UDFA's per year. Hopefully one makes it. The average service time of an NFL player is 3 years. Some last 10-15 years but most last less. So a drafted player may last a little longer but dont fret if they get cut after year 2. If they are not getting it by than, they should be cut. The patriots have done well at drafting. They have had some misses but also some major hits. Mankins, Wilfolk, and Mayo are all first rounders that are pro bowlers. Seymour was another hit. Warren was a big contributer until injuries caught up. No team gets it right every time. Golsten for the jets. Maybin for the Bills. I am sure every team has a first rounder that they want to forget. Overall the Patriots have had solid drafts that have kept them competitive. The team is built through the draft, free agency and trades. I would add UDFA's as a bonus draft pick. The credit for their success is good scouting. Seeing someone who may not have been drafted but will be a good fit.

There are some serious busts among recent Patriot draftees. We compound it by refusing to admit some are busts who continue to use up roster spots. Butler, Brace, Tate, Wilhite are some examples. Why not just release them?

There are some serious busts among recent Patriot draftees. We compound it by refusing to admit some are busts who continue to use up roster spots. Butler, Brace, Tate, Wilhite are some examples. Why not just release them?Posted by jader

Jonathan Wilhite was a lower 4th rounder and Tate a mid 3rd. Both have contributed, Tate is a very good kick returner while Wilhite is a passable nickel corner. Hardly busts, and in fact the word bust should be reserved for 1st and 2nd rounders in my opinion since they're projected to be starters in most cases. Were you expecting stars with Tate and Wilhite? Butler I'll grant you has underwhelmed, and Brace has yet to be healthy but has flashed in spots. Take the good with the bad.